GB-A-2,305,901 describes a money handling system in which a tube conveyor system is used to convey money between one location and a remote storage location. The money is conveyed in a carrier, which is placed (usually manually) into a sending station, and received at a receiving station situated at or close to the storage location, where the carrier is opened and the money extracted (again usually manually).
EP-A-0841644 describes a cash handling system in which parcels of bank notes are delivered to a collection location, such as an ATM machine. The system described is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and employs a “pick and place” mechanism 15 whereby a parcel of cash 21 is extracted from a storage unit 11 and delivered to the collection point 22. The “pick and place mechanism” 15 includes a carriage 17 that moves along a rail 16 or track, with an arm 18 that carries a jaw assembly 19. The jaws of the jaw assembly 19 can be opened or closed so as to grip or release a parcel. Thus, when there is a demand for cash to be delivered to the collection point 22, the carriage 17 is moved along the rail 16 until the jaw assembly 19 is aligned with a parcel 21 in the storage unit 11. The jaws are activated to grip the parcel, and the carriage 17 is then moved along the rail 16 to a collection box which is open to receive the sheaf and is then closed and moved to the collection point 22, where the jaws are opened to release the parcel.
The system also includes a conveyor arrangement for replenishing parcels in the storage unit 11. This is illustrated in FIG. 2. Within a vault or secure cash room 24 a conventional bank note counting and dispensing mechanism 25 compiles parcels of bank notes of predetermined value, and supplies them to the jaw assembly of a pick and place mechanism 26. The mechanism 26 then transports parcels individually from the dispensing mechanism 25 and inserts them into the carrier residing in the sending station 28 of a pneumatic tube conveyor system 27. The conveying tube of the system 27 terminates at its opposite end in a receiving station 29 adjacent the storage unit 11 and accessible to the jaw assembly 19 of the pick and place mechanism 15. The mechanism 26 passes the parcel to the station 28 where it is introduced into a carrier and the carrier is dispatched along the tube system to the receiving station 29. Within the receiving station 29 the parcel is either removed from the carrier and presented for access by the jaw assembly 19, or alternatively the carrier itself is opened to provide access for the jaw assembly 19 to the parcel. Thereafter the mechanism 15 retrieves the parcel from the station 29 and introduces it into the storage unit 11.
These prior art cash handling systems rely on established designs of carriers for the pneumatic conveying. When the carrier arrives at its destination receiving station the parcel of notes has to be removed from the carrier (possibly involving opening of the carrier). Established carrier designs usually include a canister that can be closed and opened by unscrewing or releasing a closure device. It is clearly undesirable, especially when providing cash to re-stock an ATM machine, for this operation to be performed manually. Automation of the process may involve a complex series of operations to ensure that the parcel of notes is correctly picked out of the carrier and delivered to its storage location.